The Son of Voldemort
by sammyli11
Summary: Filius is an 11-year-old boy, destined to cause great things in the future. He joins his friends, Scorpius, Albus and many more, and explores the wonders of Hogwarts Castle. Join Filius as he watches Scorpius and Albus become the best of friends, and Rose rejecting him at every moment, but when Filius discovers who he really is, all changes...
1. Chapter 1 - The Arrival

Filius looked around panicked. His mother had said that she could not be there at his departure to Hogwarts, and as a eleven-year-old could be, Filius was frightened. There was no one he knew there at the busy train station, until he saw a familiar sweep of white-blonde hair.

"Scorpius!" he yelled. "Wait for me!"

Scorpius Malfoy turned and beamed. A close family friend, the Malfoys were always happy to see Filius and his kin, especially Scorpius, who had no relatives his age going to the famous school for witchcraft and wizardry.

"Filius! You made it! Let's go on the train already, I can't wait to explore! Dad told me about the Room of Requirement and what happened nineteen years ago…"

But Filius wasn't listening. He had caught the eye of a girl his age, who was surrounded by her friends and a familiar man who was warily looking this way. Scorpius had noticed this, and shoved Filius aside to explain.

"That's Harry Potter," Scorpius whispered.

"The Chosen One?" Filius said, eyes wide open. Everyone had heard of the great and mighty Harry Potter, who had defeated the Dark Lord. Filius wasn't too sure about what he did, but his mother never talked about him in the house. He remembered that one night when he brought him up.

"Mum? Who's Harry Potter?" Filius had casually asked. He'd just come back from Scorpius' house and they had spent the day looking through the family records. They'd stumbled across Harry Potter's name and history in the books, and were curious to see who he was, since the family records had strange information about him.

"Never you mind, Filius, my child. There are some things that you don't need to know about yet. I'll tell you when you're older. Off to bed," his mother had said.

"I think those are his kids. We'll talk to them when we're on the train, okay?" Scorpius smiled. "The records will have new information by the time we've come back!"

Filius grinned back as Scorpius was hugged by his father and mother, Draco Malfoy and Astoria Malfoy. "Bye, Mr and Mrs Malfoy!" he said politely before dashing off to the grand Hogwarts Express.

"Be safe, kids!" Astoria bid them goodbye.

"Don't go wandering around and behave," Draco smiled to them. He remembered his first day at Hogwarts, and it wasn't a great start, although it seemed great at the time. He really wished he'd made a good impression to Harry, so that he could have become warmer to Hermione Granger, who he'd looked up to and admired. It didn't matter now that he had Astoria, but he still missed those days…

Once they were on the train, Scorpius was dashing up and down the train, looking for the carriage he wanted. Filius swore he kept muttering 'where is she, where is she' but Scorpius said he hadn't ever fancied a girl. As they passed several empty carriages, Filius was getting impatient.

"Have you found the carriage yet? There were plenty empty or nearly empty ones we could have gone in-"

"Shut up, Filius. There's someone I want to talk to," Scorpius said, going bright red. Smiling at this new discovery, Filius shook his head and continued searching with Scorpius.

Suddenly, Scorpius stopped and took a couple steps back in order not to be seen by the people inside, and stepping on Filius' foot.

"Ow! What are you _doing_?" Filius yelped. "That hurt!"

"I'm watching you yelp around like a seal. Shut it and pay attention; watch and learn." Scorpius ran a hand through his gelled hair and pulled a grin. "Any good?"

"That'll scare away girls any day," Filius sighed, although he knew that he would never be like Scorpius.

Scorpius walked slowly to the door and knocked politely, with Filius poking his head over his shoulder. As soon as he saw the girl who had caught his eye, he tried to grin but instead put on a cheesy smile. Filius kicked himself and followed Scorpius into the carriage.

"Hey. Can I sit with you guys?" Scorpius said smoothly. "Oh, and this is my friend Filius. Say hi," he gestured.

Filius gulped as all eyes were on him. "Hey."

He saw the girl's eyes roll and divert back to her book. Filius loved books, but didn't feel secure enough to tell her that, mainly because Scorpius was coolly getting along with the boy he was sitting next to and making him feel even more nervous.

After a few minutes, he worked up the courage to talk to her. "Hey. My name's Filius," he trembled. The girl looked up briefly before realising he was talking to her.

"Oh. My name's Rose Granger-Weasley," she said distantly before reading more.

"What are you reading?" Filius said nervously. Who knew it could be this hard to talk to a girl?

"Hogwarts: A History. Did you know that the ceiling is enchanted to look like the sky?" she said, finally looking up to talk to him. Her blue eyes analysed him quickly and a flash of alarm washed over her face as she realised something. She glanced at Scorpius and delved quickly back into her book.

"Oh. Um, no, I never knew that," Filius said, but never got a reply, because Rose shuffled away from him.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Girl

When they arrived at Hogwarts, Filius walked with Scorpius and his new friend to the Great Hall. On the way, they introduced themselves properly. He was Albus Potter, the son of Harry Potter, and had a brother called James Potter. Albus wasn't worried what house he'd be sorted in, because his father had reassured him that the Sorting Hat obeyed your wishes as to what house you'd be in. All Filius asked was to be in the house Scorpius was in, but Scorpius wanted to be in the house Albus was in, which was Gryffindor, and his mother had told Filius to be in Slytherin. Filius couldn't decide.

As Professor McGonagall called his name, Filius' legs wobbled dangerously and he swayed alarmingly. Scorpius patted him on the back and Albus wished him luck, and suddenly his vision cleared and he walked to the hat.

The sorting hat was placed on his head, and it yelped. It sounded rather like the seal Scorpius was referring to, but this was no time for laughing, because the sorting hat fell off his head. That had never happened before.

McGonagall realised what had happened. She looked into Filius' eyes and saw an innocent, terrified boy. She took him by the shoulder and led him away into her office.

"Filius, who are your parents?" McGonagall said severely. She knew that something was up, and that she would have to break Filius' little heart some time soon.

When McGonagall heard the answer, she dropped to her knees. Many questions were flowing through her head, but the main one was - what was going to happen?

Filius ran through the busy corridors, tripping over feet and stumbling. He had no idea where he was, or what had happened, but he needed to find someone he knew and trusted.

Of all people he bumped into, it was Rose, who dropped her heavy load of books. Filius was terrified, but bent down to pick up the books anyway.

"I'm so sorry, Rose," he started, hoping to get a response, but she grabbed the books from him and walked off without a word of thanks. However, Filius could see the fear and thoughtfulness in her eyes, and didn't give up hope.

He carried on a little further until he saw a girl, the same age he was, looking completely lost and petrified. Filius decided to go along with his instincts and talk to her.

"Hey, I'm Filius. Are you lost?" he said nervously. Why was he always so nervous these days?

"Um, yeah. Can you show me the way? I have a map," she replied, just as nervous. Filius took the map and suddenly it all made sense. He remembered Scorpius saying that they were to head to their common rooms for what house they were in, but he never got sorted properly.

"Here, I'll show you the way to the Hufflepuff common room," Filius smiled encouragingly, although inside he was slowly melting away. The girl smiled and walked along with him happily. By now, everyone had gone to lessons and they were the only people there.

"By the way, my name's Seraphina," she said after a while, shocking Filius. He nodded, and they started up a conversation.

"I can't help but notice your robes, Filius. You're not sorted into a house. They should change to your house colours."

FIlius pondered. Could he trust this girl he just met? Not thinking of the consequences, he went along with his gut and told her everything, right from the very beginning.

"...so that's how I'm not sorted. I don't know why, I just told Professor my parents and she walked out the room. I didn't know what to do, so I left."

"That's so brave of you. I wish I was that brave. Anyway, here we are. Hufflepuff Common Room."

"Yep. So I guess it's goodbye," Filius said, rather sad that it was goodbye.

"Can I see you again?" she asked, echoing his thoughts. He nodded, smiled and left. He didn't know where he was going at all. His friends were probably all settled in, making new friends and talking about things he never knew about. So he went into the nearest bathroom and sat down.

Little did he know it was the girls' bathroom on the second floor, and as he sat down by the sinks and cried, he mumbled to himself in Parseltongue.

Little did he know, he had opened the Chamber of Secrets.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Chamber

The drain moved.

Filius jumped up in fright. No one was there, and he swore hae hadn't done anything, but the drain moved all the same. Then the top of the sinks moved upwards and the sinks slid aside.

Frightened out of his own wits, he breathed a shaky breath and figured out what Scorpius would do in a situation like this. He would go and investigate.

Filius did _not_ want to investigate.

He nervously looked around one last time, and stepped tentatively towards to giant hole in the ground. Then, of course, he slipped and fell down the hole.

It was giant slide, damp and smelling funny. He landed at the bottom with a thud and adjusted his eyes to the darkness. This was easy, since his family's house was dark, as was Scorpius'.

He felt around; there was something scaly and thin all around him. When he realised it was a snake's skin, he jumped. He never liked snakes, although his mother kept a pet one 'in memory of your father'. He knew that his father was 'out there somewhere', and his mother always dressed in black. Did that mean he was… dead? Filius sat there, alone, damp and frightened, figuring out his history.

When he came to his senses, he realised that the snake skin was about ten times bigger than a usual snake skin. He yelped and hurried along what seemed to be the sewers. There were bits of rock and rubble scattered around everywhere. Filius stepped over them and found himself at a circular door with a snake patterned onto it. Curious, he commanded it to open. It did, strangely enough.

He walked inside and saw a massive figure head statue of someone familiar… where had he seen it? Oh, it was that picture in the living room that his mother hung up with eight other pictures on the wall. It seemed strange to Filius, but he was determined to find out more. He could even start a conversation with his mother (extremely rare) about the statue. That way, he could actually bond with his mother and feel the love that he needed.

His footsteps echoed around the chamber. Again, there was no one there. However, Filius could swear he heard quiet, mysterious whispers around the room. He could make out a few words; then he realised it was in a different language. How could he understand it? It was awfully weird, and Filius didn't like it. He saw something dark and scaly inside the statue's mouth, and dark red stains splattered everywhere. It wasn't a pleasant place to be.

Memories flashed in his head as he walked closer to the statue.

"Where's Daddy?" Filius had asked as a kid.

His mother had always replied with, "He shall be back soon, since a part of him lives inside Hogwarts. When you go there, he shall be waiting."

Filius had never understood what that meant.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Rat

Then, a rat emerged from Filius' robes.

"Cicaro! What are you doing here? I thought you were with my trunk!" Filius said, petting the albino rat. It squeaked in return.

"Luckily, I have some of my treats here. Do you want one? Oh, of course you do!" FIlius laughed as Cicaro nibbled the treat in his hand. Cicaro always was his best friend from the day they met, since the day his father went missing. His mother had given it to him as a gift, since he had never stopped crying.

This albino mouse, Cicaro, didn't have much of a backstory. His mother told him that it had gotten into an accident and therefore didn't have a nose anymore. She had found him on the side of a muggle road and rescued him. She was going to leave him in the pet shop to heal if Filius didn't want him. But Filius loved him. The poor rat didn't like Filius at first, but his mother had taken him out to the vets to get him to be friendlier. Filius thought it was sweet of his mother to save this poor rat.

Now, Cicaro was still weak, but growing stronger thanks to the treats Filius fed him every day. Cicaro's nose had never grown back, but his mother reassured him that he was going to be okay.

Filius was still scared, but now Cicaro was here he had nothing to worry about. Suddenly, Cicaro scampered quickly to the statue.

"Cicaro! Come back! It's dangerous there, you can't -"

But Cicaro was already gone.

Filius ran to the mouth of the statue. He couldn't see much in there, but heard weird squeakings. "Cicaro?" he called. "Come out, I don't want to go in there."

The squeakings quietened down into a sneer. Filius started to step back as the sneers turned into a laugh.

"Cicaro?" FIlius whispered. "Cicaro…"

"My boy, my son. I am no rat any longer. Your mother did good in making sure you did not know much," the snake-like voice hissed from the darkness. "Filius, I thank you for opening the Chamber, where I could rise again."

"Dad?" FIlius whispered, even quieter than before. "Is it really you?"

"Yes, my boy. Potter destroyed my body once, but he shall not do it again. For here I stand, in Hogwarts, with my new heir. Your sister has disappeared, so I do not know why she has not opened it for me already."

"My sister?" Filius was intrigued. "I have a sister?"

"Yes, FIlius. My, my, your mother is good as keeping you innocent. Come now, we shall have a little talk about everything you do not know, and you can tell your mother when you get home. Mm?" Filius' father called. "Through this mouth here, there is a stairwell that can take us to the Slytherin Common Room, where you are sorted, yes?"

Filius stopped in his tracks. "There's something I need to tell you, dad."

"What is it, my child?"

"I - I wasn't sorted. The sorting hat kind of jumped off my head, and then Professor McGonagall took me into her office and asked me questions. When she left, I left before she could come back, and then I ran to the bathroom, and cried to myself, and then I opened the sinks up and here I am. What's wrong with me, dad?"

"Nothing's wrong with you, my boy. You will grow into a fine young successor, much better than your sister will ever be. Now, do you want to find out about her or not?" he asked from the darkness.

Filius smiled. He had never been offered information, and now was the time to have it. He stepped into the darkness and anticipated the knowledge that was about to come from his father.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Talk

"You have heard certain rumours about the Dark Lord, or Voldemort, or You-Who-"

"Must not be named? I've heard about him. Albus briefly said that his father killed him, although he didn't go into detail. Who is he?" Filius asked.

"Me," his father said casually.

"But… you were meant to be dead!" Filius said, now confused.

"Let me start from the beginning. Yes, I killed Lily and James Potter, and tried to kill Harry Potter in his childhood. He survived, and I was weakened.

"Over the years, I have tried to kill him more, and until seven years later I finally had the chance to. I did, but he resurrected himself. We then had one more final battle, but he won and that part of me died.

"Have you ever wondered why your mother has eight pictures of objects on the wall? Well, those stand for eight horcruxes. Horcruxes are objects you put part of your soul in, so that you can never be truly dead until all eight of them are destroyed.

"Seven of mine have been destroyed, as well as my usual form. However, that left one last horcrux. Or so you think. My body there was merely a replacement, something that wasn't truly me. This little rat form, an animagus, was me after all this time."

"But what's an animagus?" Filius asked, soaking up all the information.

"You'll find out about it in class. I'll explain more, but you need to go and attend classes. Keep a low profile, make friends with Scorpius and his friends, and don't trust Gryffindors. I must go; there are people looking for me, to hunt me down, although many do not know I still exist. Good luck, my child."

And with that, he was gone.

Filius entered through the dungeon door, even more confident than usual. Maybe it was seeing his father again, or maybe that he knew a lot more than he did.

Scorpius was there, chatting to Albus. He saw Filius and beamed, and then looked at his robes.

"You're still not sorted yet, are you? Look, if you're in here, you might as well have these for the time being. You'll fit right in!" Scorpius said, thrusting him a kit of Slytherin Robes.

"I - I don't think so, not yet. I have to go to McGonagall to talk with her. Maybe she can sort me again." Filius let Albus and Scorpius escort him to McGonagall's office.

"... I'm sure he'll do okay, there wasn't -"

"But he wasn't sorted! The sorting hat is always right-"

" _Almost_ always right, it makes mistakes-"

"It looks like we have a visitor."

The door magically opened as Filius was about to knock.

He entered to a group of teachers huddled around the small table, arguing furiously. As soon as they saw Filius, their expressions changed to something dark and gloomy.

When all the teachers had left until it was just McGonagall, she ushered him into the room. "I'm sorry about today, Filius, it has just all been too much. We shall get you sorted, and then off to your dorm."

Filius mumbled an 'it's all right' and sat down on a stool as McGonagall placed the sorting hat on his head and gripped it rather tightly.

"Hmm…. Now your thoughts are clearer, I can see exactly what house you shall be in… but wait! Your true thoughts lie deep within you… you are destined for great things, great things, but will they be terrible things, we shall see…"

Filius anticipated his outcome. He wasn't like Albus or Scorpius, asking for the house they desired. He simply wanted whatever house would do him the most good.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the sorting hat yelled, and then buried its mouth in the folds of the hat. "I'm absolutely certain."

FIlius and McGonagall was dumbstruck. They were both expecting Slytherin, and definitely not Gryffindor.

"Oh my… A Potter in Slytherin, a Riddle in Gryffindor… what has the world come to these days?" McGonagall said grimly.

"Riddle?" Filius asked. "Who's Riddle?"

"That's going to be your surname for the rest of these seven years. At least, until you figure out your future," McGonagall said mysteriously.


	6. Chapter 6 - The Bonding

Filius stumbled to the Gryffindor Common Room. He looked around, until he saw Rose sitting in the corner reading. She looked up and frowned.

"Hey," FIlius said, much more confident. It was his father's skills, he was sure. He needed to ask how to communicate with girls more often.

"Hey. I thought you were going to be in Slytherin. But I was wrong, so here we are. I'm sorry if I upset you or anything, I just wasn't sure if you were part of the Malfoys," Rose replied.

"I'm technically in his family tree, it's all very complicated. But my family and his family are close friends. They're nice people," Filius added after seeing Rose's expression. "Anyway, I'm in Gryffindor now. Can you tell me how all of this works?"

They spent the next few hours exploring Hogwarts together, having fun and even studying together when they had the chance to.

"Who knew you were so clever?" Rose said as Filius was one step behind her in Charms homework.

"I didn't need to guess if _you_ were so clever anyway; you can't stop reading books," Filius joked, and they were laughing again.

Seraphina suddenly appeared and she slid from the other side of the table next to Filius. "Hey, FIlius. We met before?"

Why are girls now suddenly so confident? Wow, it must a vibe, Filius thought.

"Um, yeah. How's Hufflepuff working out for you?" he asked, not wanting to send her away harshly but slowly.

Rose could see that he didn't like her as much, and that he was trying to send her away, and smiled a little. This was shaping up to a great first day at Hogwarts, although her mother might not approve.

"Hufflepuff's great, thanks," Seraphina quickly said, as she saw Rose looking at her intently. "I'm going to go and study over there. You're welcome to come and join me if you'd like."

Rose finished her Charms homework, and FIlius had too, so they went outside to visit Hagrid. FIlius had never had the chance to talk to Hagrid, but Rose had been plenty of times and wanted Filius to meet the gamekeeper.

"Trust me, my mother and father used to visit him at least three times a week. It was amazing, since they got to meet Dragons. My uncle Charlie works with them in Romania. We go there every now and then in the holidays…"

When they had reached Hagrid's Hut, they rapped on the door sharply, to be greeted by the half-giant.

"Well, nice o' yer to visit me again, Rose. An' who do we 'ave 'ere?"

"This is Filius, my new friend!" Filius smiled as Rose felt for his hand, and gripped it. Wow, he thought. This is escalating quickly.

"Nice 'o meet yer, FIlius. Now, if yer don't mind me, I've got some work to be gettin' on with. It's official Hogwarts business, and it involves dragons for a competition o' some sort, where McGonagall requested not to tell any students about. I shouldn't have told yer that. I shouldn't have said that."

But Filius and Rose were already running back to the castle, full of joy and excitement, wondering about the Triwizard Tournament.

"Last time it was hijacked by the Dark Lord. Thank Dumbledore that you-know-who's dead. In fact, thank Harry Potter. Boy, should Albus live up to his standards, he shouldn't have been placed in Slytherin…" Rose babbled on, but Filius wasn't listening. Should he tell the truth and betray Rose's trust forever? Or was she able to understand his problems, and that it wasn't his fault? Filius decided to keep it quiet and play along until she understood properly.

"...this year, it's going to be checked and rechecked, with staff all over so that everyone's safe. I wonder which fourth year is going to be chosen this time! What do you think, Filius?"

"Um, yeah, I sure hope it's Jack, you know, the Gryffindor…" However. As Filius listened to Rose, he couldn't help but think about his sister. It was rather strange. He didn't feel repulsed by his father's looks, as most people would have been.

"Filius? Are you okay?" Rose was shaking him gently. Filius was feeling rather faint.

"Too… much… information…"

He fell unconscious on the floor.


	7. Chapter 7 - The Friendship

**NOTE: This is a slightly longer chapter, thanks to the review of Pieter250!**

Meanwhile, Scorpius was worrying about his friend. And, of course, Rose, but he tried not to think about the details.

"Albus, have you ever wondered about Filius? What's going on? He turns up in our common room, then becomes a Gryffindor, and starts going off with Rose. Like, what is going on?" Scorpius mumbled, thinking hard.

"Um, I don't know. Rose hasn't said anything to me for ages. I think she hates me, just because of my house."

"Then Filius shouldn't be friends with her, even if she's on good terms with him. He'll get influenced," Scorpius pondered, and a plan began to form. "I think we should become even better friends with him. Soon, he'll be off with us and Rose can get a taste of her own medicine. You know, Gryffindor might not even be the right house for him."

"So what's our first step?" Albus asked, intrigued.

"Our first step is to talk to him straight on. Find out about him. Then we'll ambush Rose. It'll be perfect," Scorpius smiled.

That day, the two of them sneaked over to Hagrid's hut. They'd been watching where they went, and every week they ended up at Hagrid's hut on a Wednesday. This was the time.

"I hope Hagrid's gotten rid of his last dragon egg," Rose chatted to Filius, who was struggling to keep up to her fast pace. "It was causing problems last Wednesday."

"Mmm," FIlius replied, panting hard. The long trek down the hill was nothing for Rose, who went on adventures with her family in the holidays. Filius' holidays were spent moping around the house, looking for something interesting to do.

"And - oh, what are you doing here, Albus?" Rose started. She spotted the pair lurking around the entrance to the hut. "Aren't you meant to be in the dungeons or something?"

Filius saw Scorpius and hugged him. "I haven't seen you two in ages! Where have you been?"

"Or where have _you_ been. We've been looking all over for you two, until we decided to pay Hagrid a visit. And here you two are, Filius and _Rose_." Despite his foreboding tone, he spat into his hand and pushed it into his hair.

"Gross. Albus, your parents have been worried. My mother says you haven't written home in weeks, and I've been writing home every Saturday. Your father doesn't even know what house you've been sorted into. I suppose that's a good thing; all my friends have been talking about you and how your father would be disa-" Rose was on a roll, but Albus was aggravated.

"Don't you dare say a word against my father! He' a great man, and he said that even if I was sorted into Slytherin, Slytherin would have gained a great student!" Albus yelled at Rose, who merely sniffed and turned to Filius.

"We should go now. We can tell Hagrid later that we ran into some _commotion_ that needed to be sorted. Come on, FIlius!" But Filius began to doubt Rose. Albus and Scorpius were his friends, and despite what they had done, they were still great people in his mind.

"Rose, I'm going to stay here for a minute. There's a lot we need to catch up on, right guys?" Filius said nervously. Rose stormed off to the castle, muttering spells she could use on them, while Filius walked the other way with his old friends.

Scorpius was relieved that Filius had come back from the dark side. "Rose is a bad start to Hogwarts. Albus and I know all about friendship; don't go mixing with the likes of Rose."

"That's right. No one likes a biased friend. What's wrong with Slytherin, anyway?" Albus said. "It depends on who you truly are. My dad told me a quote, but I can't remember it."

"Thanks for sticking by me. What else should I look out for?" FIlius asked curiously.

Scorpius and Albus shared a knowing smile, and told him about the Battle of Hogwarts, in their Slytheriny sort of way. Little did Filius know that his dad was watching and listening from the folds of his robe, making a mental note to try and get back in touch with Draco Malfoy, and how his son was the best son he could ever ask for.

Meanwhile, Rose stumbled angrily into the common room, tears streaming down her face.

Her friend, Lucy, comforted her. "What's wrong, Rose? Where's Filius?"

"Filius was mean to me. It's Albus Potter's fault, and his foul, evil, loathsome little cockroach friend Scorpius Malfoy." Rose sobbed into Lucy's shoulder.

"Albus Potter? And a Malfoy?" said someone from the other side of the room. "I thought Harry Potter and the Malfoys were, like, the worst of enemies!"

Whispers flooded the room, each discussing the Potters and the Malfoys.

"Stop it! All of you! FIlius was my friend, and they tricked him. We should go and get Filius back. He's a great person, he really is!" shouted Rose. The rest of the Gryffindors nodded, and they plotted to save Filius from friendship. Rose saw everything going to plan, and nodded. They were going to help her, and she was in control of it.

Filius was ambushed by a group of Gryffindors on his way back to the common room. They shuffled him in the shadows to Rose, who was waiting in the girl's bathroom. They stood guard outside, waiting fro Rose's commands. It was their chance to prove they could overpower the Slytherins, their chance to prove they were just as good as the Famous Harry Potter.

"What's going on, Rose? Why have you got fifth years dragging me across the school? Why are you sitting there with a caldron in your lap? What-" Filius was confused and worried. What was she up to?

"Nothing's going on, Filius. Here, I made some liquid luck for you, so that you can-" Rose tried to pass him a cup of foul smelling stuff, but Filius knew better.

"That's not liquid luck, Rose. What are you going to do?" Filius waited for a response, then dashed towards the exit. With a snap of her fingers, Rose made sure the fifth years blocked any possible escape.

"If that's how you want to play it, then fine. Haessss…" Filius commanded the toilets to open once more. Rose jumped and spilt the potion down the drains, as the sinks parted in all directions.

"Go on, then, Rose. Off you go. You want to be friends? Or just friends with Gryffindors?" Filius didn't know what he was doing, as if someone was controlling him. Before long, Rose had been pushed down the endless darkness and Filius had followed her down there.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Story

"Where are we? I thought I knew every place inside the school. Father said there was a map that showed everywhere and everything but Uncle George refused to speak about it. Filius?" Rose trembled, sitting on the damp ground. "Where are we?"

Filius didn't reply. He'd had enough of Rose and what she was up to. For all he knew, she probably knew about this place anyway.  
"Filius, I refuse to stay in here any longer. Can you please just tell me how to get out of here? I'm not climbing up that drain."

So she had figured out it was a drain? Even he hadn't, and his father specialised in these things. Suspiciously, Rose started following him.

"I thought you needed to get out? Climb up the drain," Filius said sarcastically.

"Filius," Rose pleaded, but followed as Filius stepped over the debris and the snake skin. "Just tell me why we're down here in the sewers?"

"You ought to know. Your parents should know all about this place," Filius said, his face blank.

"Actually, we never talk at all about what happened at school all that time ago. Mother's busy, and father's more of a, um, joking character. We don't talk about the time when they were at Hogwarts. I wish they did, though."

Filius wondered how Rose could be chatting this much when she was about to meet his father. Whilst Rose's parents were more joking, Filius' dad was the complete opposite. Serious as always, and giving lots of information. Filius stepped into the hall after opening the chamber door, and pushed Rose in first.

"Hey, that hurt! You're mean, Filius," Rose said, but stumbled in and explored. "Wow, this place looks really cool but scary. Is this where you've been going at night?"

"How did you know?" Filius asked. He had been constantly going to the Chamber at night to try and see if his father was there, but only rarely did he ever appear. Usually he was busy with 'preparation business'. What was he preparing for, and why?

"At night-time I go to the library to the restricted section. It's risky, and the books are set to scream the room down and call Mr Filch, but if you know how to calm them down it's okay. Most of the books already know me anyway, and how my mother rarely came in here but still did. My father never risked it, but uncle Potter did. I wouldn't be surprised if Albus came in there himself," Rose explained. "That's when I hear you sneak out. Once I followed you all the way to the girls' bathroom, but I suspected nothing of you. You were still my best friend then."

"Am I not now?" Filius asked. "I still see you as my best friend."

Rose blushed, and laughed. "I was just kidding with you. As long as I'm your truly bestest friend."

"You are," Filius said, not wanting to hurt her feelings. He knew she couldn't be trusted, not as long as the Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry was still ongoing.

"Father?" he called out. "Please be here today. I need your help."

"Anything, my boy. I have little work to do today," the snake-like voice hissed from the mouth of the statue. "What is it you require?"

"Advice. My friend, let's call him F. F is in love with S, but R is attached to him. R doesn't like Slytherins, who are A and Sc. F has no idea how to talk to S and R, and A and Sc and planning something. I'm confused even more so now, what am I doing?" Filius sniffed sadly.

Rose looked at him. It all fitted in now. "Seraphina. I knew she was up to something, but I never guessed what. All that time we've been together, she was watching. Always watching in the shadows. I never knew… FIlius! Why?"

"Now now, children. It shall all come to plan. Filius, my son, let me tell you a story. Don't worry, it is completely relevant.

"There was once a beautiful girl named Lily. She was born into a normal family. She had a sister, Petunia, who thought she was a freak. Why? Because she was a witch. She possessed magical powers that her sister could only dream of. A boy, Severus Snape, fell in love with her. He, too, possessed magical powers. They attended Hogwarts together soon after. However, Lily fell for a boy named James Potter. He loved her, but not as much as Severus did. James was the popular one, shall we say, and he loved bullying, teasing Severus. Lily did not like this, but still married James years later.

"Then one fateful night, someone came to Lily and James Potter's house. They had a newborn in the house. Harry Potter. I came to the house, and seeing Severus' misery, ended James' life. I could have spared the girl, she was innocent. However, as I moved in to kill the famous Harry Potter, and saved many lives that died fighting to protect him years afterwards, Lily Potter jumped in to save him. I tried afterwards, but I failed. It came with much sacrifice, as much sacrifice as Lily Potter put in to save her only child. I was forced to retire whilst baby Harry sat there, unharmed apart from a single lightning scar.

"I hope you learn something from this, children. Severus Snape taught at Hogwarts. Harry Potter resented him, but Snape cared a little for the boy. He, after all, had his mother's eyes. Lily's eyes. Little did they know at the time, the boy had to die. At the hands of me. Snape and Dumbledore understood. They both died, but that's a minor detail for me.

"Your friend, Albus Severus Potter, was named after them both. I want you, Filius, to figure this story out. What was I trying to tell you? And, oh, look at the time. I must go and, shall we say, attend to my followers."

And just like that, the yearning, heartbroken Dark Lord was gone.


End file.
